Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Waste Connections has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 20 analysts, with 14 buys, four holds and two strong buys. The average 12-month price target is $202.42, above the stock’s reported $167.54 price.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.50 in EPS and $2.56 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 6.4% year over year. Analysts project full-year EPS of $5.63.
• Waste Connections declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, equivalent to a 0.8% annual yield, and institutional investors own 86.09% of the stock.

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $202.4211.

WCN has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $208.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Waste Connections from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of WCN stock opened at $167.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $162.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.23. Waste Connections has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $191.00.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 301,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,811 shares of company stock valued at $1,887,572. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Trium Capital LLP purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,995,000. Nicholas Company Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 449,112 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $78,756,000 after purchasing an additional 109,950 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 669,442 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $117,394,000 after purchasing an additional 7,866 shares during the last quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd now owns 56,620 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,754,000 after purchasing an additional 12,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,140 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,546,000 after purchasing an additional 8,363 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections NYSE: WCN is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company's operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.

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